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Basketball: Charleston Girls Edge Mansfield, 43-36

CHARLESTON — With 19 points from Maci Wisdom and 16 from Paytin McLaughlin, Charleston kept its conference winning streak alive at 87 consecutive games with a 43-36 victory against Mansfield on Tuesday.

But it wasn’t easy.

Charleston (5-3, 1-0 3A-4) made only 7 of 21 from the free-throw line, which allowed Mansfield (2-5, 0-1) to stay in the game until the final moments.

“We are supposed to be a good-shooting team, but we have had a lot of trouble with (free throws) this year,” Charleston coach Jason Rucker said. “It’s frustrating. We are trying to figure it out. If we don’t get that fixed, in a close game, that is going to get us beat.”

Wisdom made just 4 of 11 attempts from the line. But she also sank a 3-pointer and took the ball aggressively to the basket, particularly in the second half, during which she scored 13 of her points. Charleston led just 19-18 at the end of a sluggish first half and pushed it to 32-26 after three quarters.

“I have asked (Maci) to be more aggressive offensively, she has the ability to score and we need her to do that,” Rucker said. “She is coming along and that was good to see.”

McLaughlin had three 3-pointers for Charleston, including two early 3s that got Charleston off to a 10-6 lead.

Kaylie Pyles scored 14 for Mansfield. Back-to-back baskets by Pyles got Mansfield as close as 39-33 in of the fourth quarter.

“We gave it our best shot,” Mansfield coach Brent Reeves said. “We are still trying to get the right combination of girls out there. Charleston has won all those games for a good reason and they are going to be extra tough on their home floor.”

Charleston hosts Atkins on Friday. Mansfield returns to action with a home game with Lamar.

Charleston 61, Mansfield 46

BOYS — Charleston put up 24 points in the second quarter to lead 37-14 at the end of the first half and cruised home with a victory.

Hamilton Newhart poured in 19 points before the break and finished with a game-high 28 points.

“We try to set the tone with our defense, and we had four guys diving for loose balls there to start the second quarter,” Charleston coach B.J. Ross said. “I thought that was where we really got it going.”

Andrew Smith added 18 for Charleston.

Newhart and several other starters joined the team late after playing football.

“Ham has a lot of ability, he can score a lot of points in a hurry like that,” Ross said. “The football guys are just getting their basketball legs and they are going to get better.”